


Monte Cassino

by Kar98k



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, War, World War 2, filling the gaps, pre-Agent Carter Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-06-30
Packaged: 2018-07-19 06:17:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7348507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kar98k/pseuds/Kar98k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Moments of Daniel Sousa's stint at the Italian Front.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monte Cassino

**Author's Note:**

> Fic based on the discussion in the comments of ["Three Short Fics about Daniel Sousa's Father"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7240792/chapters/16439041) by [Paeonia](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Paeonia/pseuds/Paeonia)  
> Sorry for any grammar mistakes, English is not my first language.  
> Kudos, comments and constructive criticism greatly appreciated!

_Italian Front near Cassino, February 14th, 1944_

 

A small drizzle that started during the afternoon has now developed into a full-fledged downpour. The tent Daniel was in did shelter him from the wall of water falling down outside, although he could already see small streams of mud forming between his desk and a cot standing on the opposite side. He sighed as he turned his head back around, focusing on the sheet of paper in front of him. It was nearly a full month since he sent his last letter home, and with the next offensive planned soon, he wanted to at least cross that thing off his list. However, for the last two hours he didn’t even manage to churn out one proper sentence, let alone a full letter. He sighed again as he put down the pencil and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Up to January, the road he took alongside the Allied forces was tough, but at least it progressed. As a combat engineer and a recon scout in one, 2nd Lieutenant Daniel Sousa was always on the move, always in action, with little downtime or rest. He still remembered the thrill of his first proper parachute jump over Sicily, even though the C-47 he was flying got pummeled by both friendly and enemy flak guns and he felt utterly powerless as he drifted down, with the night’s sky lit up by burning aircraft and tracers of enemy anti-aircraft guns. He still remembered the euphoria of early victories and the bets he would make with his fellow soldiers on how they would reach Berlin just in time for next Easter.

However, the dreams of all Allied soldiers soon shattered under the harsh reality of combat. The fast-paced race soon turned into a snail's pace crawl as the Allies moved north. Contrary to the opinions of the higher-ups, the Germans were executing an orderly withdrawal, leaving only flattened villages, burned out towns, collapsed bridges, destroyed roads and miles of mines and booby traps in their wake. Daniel soon lost count of how many explosives he dug up from vineyards, fields and roads, how many tripwires he cut or how many roads he helped fix. The slow pace of advance and the thoroughness of the delaying action by the Germans infuriated him. However, he stowed his anger in the deep coriner of his mind, too preoccupied with keeping his men in good spirits. It wasn’t always easy, especially when someone got shot, maimed or killed, but Daniel was quickly realizing how good he was with managing people and leading them to even the hardest of tasks.

Suddenly, his thoughts went back to that cold night outside Salerno. The platoon led by Daniel got called up to remove heavy anti-tank mines dug into the main road leading towards Rome. As they set to work, Daniel couldn’t shake a feeling that something was amiss. He felt far too exposed, even though the moon hid behind the clouds and a sheen of fog blanketed the area.

“Lieutenant?” asked Private Dawson in a whisper. He was one of the new guys, sent from another unit after Private Jackson stepped on a “Bouncing Betty” and had his whole lower part of the body blown off.

“Is there something wrong?” he continued, busy whipping his head around.

“I don’t know, but I have bad feelings about this.” Daniel replied, scrambling to get his binoculars out. “Make it fast, guys. I don’t want to stay here longer than…”

He stopped talking then, focusing on an unexpected noise. Suddenly, he heard it again, a low grumble in the distance, supplemented by a whine growing louder and louder…

“INCOMING, GET OFF THE ROAD!” Daniel shouted as the first artillery shell fell just ahead of the group. He quickly grabbed one of the soldiers by the collar and pushed him into a ditch. He moved quickly as the men dispersed, shells falling all around them, the explosions making the bodies and the ground shake from the sheer blast force. Daniel tried to assess the situation as much as he could in the circumstances, as he tried to simultaneously curl up as much as possible to shield himself from shrapnel. The explosions suddenly increased in intensity before slowly dying down, as seconds seemed to stretch into minutes. As time passed, however, the explosions started to die down before they stopped completely. Daniel peeked out of the ditch he dove into, his uniform stained with mud as ringing filled his ears, blocking out any other sound. He turned his head back towards the direction they came from, only to suddenly feel his blood run cold. Private Bird was lying on the road, clutching his right leg. His whole foot was missing, the strips of flesh and skin hanging loose from place where his ankle used to be. Even from where he was standing Daniel could see the spots where shrapnel cut into the flesh, the leg of the pants changing it’s color from olive green to burgundy.

"Lieutenant Sousa?"

Daniel wanted to do something to help - run up to him, bandage the leg, secure Bird for transport, anything. But as he tried to move his body stopped listening, leaving him rooted to the spot. The ringing noise in his ears seemed to grow louder and louder…

"Lieutenant?!"

The sound of his rank snapped him out of the memory as he swooped around on the stool he used as a chair. He then noticed how heavily and quickly he was breathing and how his right hand shook. He quickly curled it into a fist and pressed it into his right thigh.

“Bad dream?” the intruder asked, with sympathy in his voice.

“Was I asleep?” Daniel asked, still a bit disoriented.

“Yes, although I can’t imagine that table being too comfortable.” the man spoke again. After a second Daniel recognized him - Sergeant Buckley, his aide and the link between his small detachment and the New Zealanders he was attached to.

“What do you want, Sergeant?” Daniel asked, the sentence coming out far too harshly as he would like to.

“Just got a message from the command, they want us to be prepared to move out at any time. They say something big will happen tomorrow morning.”

Daniel nodded. After the first failed assault on Cassino the American units Daniel served under were pulled back, decimated and tired. Only a few engineering and logistics companies remained, now on loan to the ANZAC forces that were to take both the mountain and the town in the following offensive.

“Anything else?” he asked, suddenly feeling extremely tired.

“Outside of that? Not really.” Buckley replied, looking down at his muddied boots.

“Dismissed, then.” Daniel said, standing up and moving towards the cot. “Tell the rest to get some sleep, don’t want anyone nodding off while we dig out mines.”

“Yes, sir!” Buckley answered, saluting and walking away back into the rain. Daniel quickly turned off the kerosene lamp on his desk and laid himself down, curling up into a ball under a thin blanket. Sleep came quick, relaxing his muscles and steadying his breath.

* * *

Daniel’s eyes snapped open as he turned from his side to his back. He blinked a few times, his vision focusing on the ‘roof’ of the tent. He stretched his arms above his head as he got up, a look at his watch confirming it was already time to get up. The noise of the rain hitting the fabric disappeared, substituted by a low drone growing louder and louder. Slightly confused, Daniel ventured out of the tent to look around.

His attention immediately, nearly subconsciously, snapped to the monastery towering over the area. Ever since he reached the region, Daniel found himself both mesmerized and terrified by the sheer presence of the building. It made him feel uneasy because he always felt like he was being watched, as if the building followed his every little move, just like God himself would. Still, in the back of his mind he thought the building would be spared. Even though all hell broke loose constantly around it, it still stood there, proud and seemingly untouched by the war.

This time, however, something was different. As Daniel looked up at the source of the sound he heard when he woke up, it dawned on him. From behind him, wave after wave of aircraft formed up into a menacing force, all of it on course towards the hill. The noise got louder until it stayed constant, drilling into Daniel’s ears as he watched. Slowly, he turned around to face the monastery again, when suddenly a row of explosions appeared on the face of the hill, just below the building. Even before Daniel blinked again, one of the bombs hit the outer wall of the building, kicking up dust and sending the fragments flying. Daniel felt his stomach tie into a knot as he sat down, only being able to look as bombs kept falling, each explosion seeming bigger than the previous. Subconsciously, he crossed himself, his hands curling into fists as a wave of feelings swooped over him. He felt disgust growing in him as he watched the building being torn to shreds, utterly powerless to stop the madness.

 _We should be better than this_. he thought as he kept watching. He knew there were rumours of Germans manning the monastery and using it as an artillery observation post, but at this moment he pushed that rationalization away. Seeing destroyed churches was one of the things Daniel hated the most, the memories of his whole family going to the Sunday mass still fresh in his mind even though it’s been nearly 2 years since he last saw them. However, usually he knew it was the work of the retreating Germans who seemed determined to never leave anything in one piece for the approaching Allies.

What he was seeing now, however, was totally different. There was no enemy in sight and no visual proof he was there. And yet the bombs kept falling as the white walls turned into charred rubble, columns of smoke pouring high up into the air like a grim omen. Daniel sighed as he stood up, returning to the tent, not wishing to look at the pointless destruction any longer. As he sat back down on the cot he shook his head.

 _What would Pai say about this? Of me being complicit in such an act?_ he thought again, not finding a satisfying answer. Dismayed, he picked up his Thompson and set about cleaning it, something he promised himself to do for days.

* * *

Two more failed offensives and a few months later, Daniel found himself utterly exhausted. He had been fighting non-stop since Sicily, and the stalemate the Allies got into did put a dent in both his and his men's’ morale. The New Zealand troops were slowly being pulled back from the front, exhausted and dismayed as well, even though they did manage to win some ground, even though the Germans fought tooth and nail for every inch of soil. Daniel was just thinking of whether his last letter reached the States already when he heard his name and rank being called.

“Lieutenant Daniel Sousa?”

He turned around to see two soldiers enter. His eyes locked at the head of the taller one, immediately noticing the gold oak leaf pinned to the sidecap. In record time, Daniel stood to attention and saluted.

“Major.”

The officer waved his hand, motioning Daniel to stand down. He relaxed in a parade rest, just as he remembered from the countless hours of drills in the boot camp.

“Lieutenant Sousa, I’m Major Rickland from the division staff,” the officer continued, straightening his right hand towards Daniel. He then spotted an envelope in his hand. “And I have this for you.”

Daniel looked him straight in the eye, confused.

“Don’t worry, you’re not being court martialed or demoted” Rickland said, with a small smile on his face. “We’re just pulling you out from the front for some rest. Also, you’re being reassigned.”

“Reassigned, sir?” Daniel asked, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“Yes, Lieutenant.” the Major continued, unfazed. “As I understand you have airdrop experience, is it right?”

“Yes, sir.” Daniel replied.

“The High Command is scrambling for anyone who can jump out of a Dakota and not end up dead. I don’t know why, but I think I would not get attached to Italy too much, Lieutenant, beautiful country as it is.” Rickland said, his voice monotone and low.

“Sergeant Michaels here,” he continued, motioning to the second man. “will drive you to Salerno where you will R&R. After that you will have to report to the command there, they should have all your papers in order. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Daniel replied, automatically.

“Then pack up, you’re supposed to leave in 5.” the Major said, closing the distance and shaking Daniel’s hand. “Good luck.”

“Thank you, sir.” Daniel answered, saluting right after the Major pulled his hand back and left. The Sergeant stayed where he was, still standing to attention.

“At ease. Prepare the transport, I’ll be there soon” Daniel said as he went about collecting his things, hearing the tent flap rustle. He quickly gathered up all he needed, sparing a moment to look at the family photo he carried around in his breast pocket. After that, he left the tent, only to find a jeep parked right next to it with Michaels behind the wheel. Nodding, Daniel dropped the backpack on the back seat and climbed onto the front seat as Michaels accelerated, leaving the tent and the frontline behind. Daniel spared the last glance onto the hill, the ruins of the monastery a grim reminder of what he witnessed just a few months ago.

As they drove out of the area, Daniel settled in for the journey. The ride was uncomfortable, with the roads still scarred from bombardment and not fully repaired. Wrecks of both German and US vehicles still littered the sides of the road as the jeep passed columns of trucks and ambulances heading away from the frontline. After a while the traffic cleared as they progressed further, however just after a few minutes they had to stop to let through a large convoy driving towards Cassino. The vehicles in the front were mostly tanks - Shermans and Stuarts, alongside a few halftracks. Behind them, in a double line, marched the infantry - Daniel recognized the British uniforms and thought for a moment that maybe these were some British reinforcements. Then, however, he heard a few shouts in a language he couldn’t understand and the whole column broke into a chant that sounded nothing like any other chant Daniel ever heard on the frontline. The rhythm of the march coupled with the visible determination and stellar posture of the column made the foreign soldiers look menacing and invincible. After a few seconds of simply watching the column pass, Daniel looked closer at the uniforms, finally spotting the red, curved patches sewn on the upper arm part of the jackets, with words POLAND sewn with white thread. Daniel observed them as the column kept marching, feeling empowered even though he didn’t know what the chant was about. He suddenly felt optimism surge in him, as if the presence of the soldiers was a good omen for the future. Soon, the column passed them and the jeep drove on, inching Daniel closer and closer towards Salerno. He didn’t fully know what lied ahead, but he already knew there would be far more fighting ahead of him.

**Author's Note:**

> The [chant](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t815V9viQeU) sang by the Polish soldiers.


End file.
